Crawling from Darkness
by Night'zKiss
Summary: After falling in battle, Naruto is left to deal with the consequences. Falling into the hands of a man named Danzo is only one of them. Will Naruto survive this latest twist in the story? Warning, people will get hurt. Now Complete.
1. And so it Begins

Story: Crawling from Darkness

Author: Night'z Kiss

Chapter One: And So it Begins…

Words: 3,077

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the series of Naruto. I am not so lucky. All I have are my thoughts and aspirations.

(Kyuubi): regular speech

(**Kyuubi**): Kyuubi speaking

(_Kyuubi_): Mental speech/thinking

It was always hard, looking back on the decisions I had made. It was hard to come to the realization that everything wasn't ok, that things did not turn out all right. I always thought that with enough will power and hope, that anything was possible, even the impossible. How cheesy now that I think back on that idiotic logic I had once held so dear.

What changed you ask. Let me tell you. Tell you the horrors that no one can survive unscathed. The agony and tragedy of misfortune that burn uncontrolled through our lives, consuming everything until only ash falls.

Our village and people were so many things, wonderful things at one point. But everything changed the day _he _came looking for me. That man came to our village looking to destroy us, and in many ways he did.

Our village was ripped apart, our moral crushed, and our friends and families stolen from us. Our village became a living place of ruins. With rubble and smoke filtering in the background as the blood of Konoha's villagers filled the streets.

Broken dolls lying in the streets; crimson stains painting their cold unfeeling flesh. Every time I glanced at one, something in me broke.

But it was seeing the bodies of the innocent children that body slammed the dam holding in check my emotions. Rational and logic had no place in the face of total annihilation of the people I loved. The rage drove away anything else that stood in its way.

Red became my eyes, sharp my teeth and long my nails. Human not quite so much. Demon they whispered when they thought I could not here them. But I did, and for once I agreed. What human man, woman, or child could survive safe and sound in this nightmare? Not I for sure.

And so I let go of the things that held me back. My humanity some would say was the first to go. Sanity? Who needs that anyway? My mind stopped, the thoughts disappeared. Rationality and intellectualization had no place within my rage.

A scream escaped my blooded lips. A wounded shriek that made even a banshee balk. Red, it was all I could see. And now that I think back, after the red then came the black. I don't remember what happened after I lost it.

When I awoke, I found myself here in this cell. The first thing that I noticed was the stench. It grabbed at me, demanding all of my attention. The putrid stench told me that I had been in this place for quite some time.

I tried to move, to concentrate on something other then the smell of dried blood, and the not quite so mysterious something under my nails. I could also feel the blood slowly crawling down my forehead and into my eyes.

I tried to lift my arms, to wipe the blood from my eyes. It was then that I realized I could not move them at all. My arms were held in place by something. At first I thought that it was me just being tired and/or weak. But when I glanced up I was two black bracelets circling my wrists. Connected to these bracelets were chains. I followed the chains' path and saw that it led to the ceiling above me.

My eyes narrowed as I realized that I was hanging from the ceiling. I looked down at the ground, trying to see how close to the floor I was. My feet could not touch the ground; I must have been a foot or more above the ground.

Looking around the room, I saw nothing but dark, wretched walls. Slime and other questionable substances stained the walls dark, almost black. The only reason I could discern this was because of the torches that lined the walls.

They were all alight. So that meant that either someone was just here or soon will be. Or that someone was watching me, maybe even now as I ponder this situation that looked bleaker every second.

I had the delayed realization that I was a prisoner. But of who I could only guess.

I glanced around the room again, this time looking for a place along the walls that seemed out of place. There would of course be no mirrors or something so obvious, we were ninjas after all.

A lot of good that seemed to do me at the moment though.

Finding no answers in the area surrounding me, I glanced up again. If I could only get out of these damn shackles. Even as I tried to reach my chakra, I knew that I would find it lacking. And as I reached into myself, I could not find my chakra. Something was stopping me. Glancing at the shackles, I would have bet my life that they were the ones responsible.

Whoever had me, was not stupid in the least. They knew that ninja were almost helpless without their chakra. Unless they were Lee, then they kicked ass. But unfortunately, I was not Lee.

I was Naruto Uzumaki, the king of chakra. A lot of good that did me. My title seemed pretty damn useless right about now.

Glaring at the shackles, I watched with a frown as blood dripped from my wrists and fell down my arms unto the ground, disappearing into the dark abysses that was the floor. Having a very bad feeling about the shackles, I decided to test my thought.

I struggled slightly against the shackles, pulling this way and that at them. Immediately pain bit into the tender flesh of my wrists. Even as I watched, more of my precious life blood dripped down my arms.

Shit…the shackles had something sharp embedded in them that easily cut flesh. That meant that I could not struggle against them without chancing bleeding out. I didn't know if Kyuubi could heal that kind of damage when my chakra was blocked. The signs of my bleeding wrists were pointing in the direction of a big fat no.

So for all intentions and purposes, I was helpless. Something that I was not used to at all. I didn't like it one damn bit.

"**Are you finally awake boy?**" The voice growled softly in my mind.

The voice was a whisper, but it might as well have been a shout. My head suddenly burst into pain. A headache of the likes I had never before. It honestly felt like the kyuubi was ripping my brain to shreds. My vision darkened under the sudden flare of agony.

"Ky…uu…bi? Hur…ts…" My teeth ground together with the pressure I was applying to them.

"**I know kit. Just hold on. I'm working…**" I stopped listening. None of it made sense to me anyway.

Finally I couldn't take it anymore; the pain had blossomed into a god forbidden ugly flower. Only this flower seemed to fest off of my blood. I would have laughed along side the Kyuubi if I had been able. As it was, I was already falling into that place I was beginning to think that I would never leave.

"**Naruto…wake up!**"

"Uzumaki…" _Huh?_

"**Naruto!**" _Wha?_ My mind wasn't working right yet.

"…wake him up since he won't do it himself." A strange new voice added into the madness that was my mind.

I was sleeping, or trying to at least. The darkest corners of my mind were so peaceful and calming. I never wanted to leave this abyss of nothingness. I couldn't feel anything here. Words like pain, love, and hate, fear were only abstracts that only held the meaning given to them. I didn't want to awaken, but something or someone had other ideas.

Fire ignited within my body. The neural connects over stimulation with white hot agony. My brain felt like it was being crushed, again. My body was ripped from its pain induced slumber into reality.

I came into consciousness in much the same way I left it. In pain.

"Wake up Uzumaki," another jolt of pain. This time centered around my cheek.

A slap. Some bastard slapped me.

"**Naruto!**" Kyuubi sounded strange, at least for him. He almost sounded…worried.

Things had to be bad if the Kyuubi sounded that desperate. What in the hell was going on?

'_Kyuubi? What?_' All the words weren't forming easily within my mind, so I tried to shove a picture of my confusion towards him. That probably just confused him more, or at least it would have confused me more. Now I'm just confusing myself.

"**Naruto, you need to listen closely. You have been captured. You have also been badly injured,**" I listened closely to the other soul whom resided within me. Just because I don't know what is going on, doesn't mean that Kyuubi doesn't know either.

"**Naruto! Pay attention!" **Joy, my first internal scolding my something other than myself.

"**Naruto! Now I want you to concentrate! The moment you open your eyes, they are going to hurt you. You have to be ready for that.**" It amazed me how much the Kyuubi could care so much for his prison guard at times.

"**Dammit Naruto! If you die, I die along side you. I will not be destroyed by these pitiful humans! Now you are going to listen very…Naruto…Naru…**"

I was already started to drift away. It took to much energy to listen so closely. Besides, most of what Kyuubi was saying was going right over my head anyway. His voice was becoming a soft growl in the recesses of my mind. He was getting quieter and quieter, or maybe I was just drifting far and far away.

"Demon brat! Wake up!" This scream was a thousand times as loud as the Kyuubi.

My eyes opened of their own accord. Someone had screamed right in my ear. It was a natural reflect to open the eyes to see what the hell was right beside me.

At first my eyes could not focus. Everything in front of me was a mass of blurs. Moving blurs that I knew could not be beneficial to my health. I tried to focus on the blur closest to me, assuming that this one owned the horrible voice that had been torturing me these last few minutes.

The features slowly agonizing bit by bit became more clear. Clear enough that the first feature I could make out was the white…hat? the man wore on his head. And abnormally small head at that.

But I quickly realized that it wasn't a hat the man wore. As the man's facial features became sharply focused in my gaze, I realized that the white cloth I had thought a hat were really bandages.

The one eye I could see was glaring at me. The man studied me closely. His mouth twitching as if trying to suppress a snarl. A scar beneath his pale lips that contorted with each movement of the muscles underlying his aging flesh.

Just looking into this man's face, I knew. I knew without a doubt whose prisoner I was. I did not know what would become of me. But the chill that crawled along my spine knew it wasn't anything good.

"Danzo…" My lips cracked, specks op blood seeping from them.

"Ah…Naruto. You don't know how long I have waited for this moment." His voice was almost as unseemly as his scarred face.

"I hope you are ready to…hang around for a bit," he laughed at his own joke. He was the only one laughing.

"I'm afraid things are going to be a bit different around here now." The laughter was gone from his voice now, each following word slower and colder than the last.

Then that god ugly face light up as that thing that could never be mistaken for a smile spread across his face, transforming it into something that made the demon in me howl. But I downed out the cried of Kyuubi, I had more pressing matters to attend to.

"Your precious Tsunade isn't able to help or protect you anymore."

My eyes widened. What had happened to Tsunade? Was he lying? Was she looking for me even right now at this moment? I wanted to believe that Tsunade was on her way to rescue me, but something in Danzo's face crushed that hope.

"Oh yes, Naruto, I'm afraid Tsunade did not survive the battle with Pein. While her efforts were valorous, they were not quite good enough."

Each word out of his mouth was another shock to my system. I felt my breaths stop, my heart pounding wildly in my ears. And yet I could do no more then wait and hear of my precious person's fate.

"She put up a good fight, enough to drive Pein out of the village. Of course, he was already weakened thanks to your…attack. She asked about you. Didn't even care that she was dying. All she cared about was you." He stopped here, and leaned closer to my face.

With his breath ghosting my cheek, he whispered in my ear, "But you should have seen the look on her face when I told her that you were still alive and that I had already arranged for some…special treatment for your recuperation." He started to laugh then. The puffs on my cheek getting moist with spittle.

"I told her not to worry, that I would take good care of Konoha's number one ninja. She died knowing exactly what that meant. What a beautiful day, wasn't it Naruto?"

Hatred. A living hatred spread like poison in my veins. Spread until every inch of me was shaking. I wanted to kill this man, much more than I had ever wanted to kill another. I could feel the Kyuubi's chakra within me, trying to get out. It pushed against the cage that was trapped in my body in an almost painful way.

"Ah, I see you are trying to access your charka. Well, I'm afraid that we had to put special manacles on you for your own safety. Those bands make it so you can not access your chakra. We wouldn't want the demon chakra inside of you to become unstable now would we?" His voice was sickly sweet, as if he were truly worried about me.

A lie. It was all lies! But regardless, I could not manipulate my chakra. It was trapped within my body with no way out. I was trapped, and we both knew it. Even Kyuubi knew it, and he was about as happy with this arrangement as I was.

"So Naruto…how about we start on your training now? If we want you to be the best weapon of all the ninja villages, we need to shape you up." I could perfectly imagine what shape he wanted me in. Any as long as it was broken and he could mend the pieces.

He wanted to destroy me, and then rebuild me. And I was powerless to stop him.

"And don't worry about your pesky teammates and friends. They are at your funeral right now as we speak. You should be happy, you and Tsunade are being laid to rest on the same day." _Oh god…please let it all be a dream, a lie, anything but this!_

"You and I are going to be spending a lot of time together, Naruto." The horror I felt in that moment, I cannot even begin to describe.

"It's too bad that bitch couldn't be alive to see the things I'm going to do to you. But at least she died knowing what's going to happen to you. And knowing that she could do nothing to stop it."

Something in me snapped. Maybe my will to live. At that moment, I didn't care if he ripped my throat out. I wanted him to die. I wanted to bath in his blood. I didn't even care that the Kyuubi's thoughts were merging with my own.

"Fuck you!" I spat at him, my voice echoing through the small room.

And again he slapped me. Hard enough that this time I nicked my lip on my teeth. More blood was freely falling, dribbling down my chin. And so I looked him in the eye, my lips spreading in a bloody parody of a smile.

And then I spat at him. There was plenty of excess blood to make my aim worthwhile. I watched with glee as the glob of spit landed on his face. Good, now it was even more ugly, just like his insides.

I started to laugh at the look on his face. Pure surprise, his eye as wide as I've ever seen it. His lips frozen in shock. It was beautiful. Even the clenched fist I saw being raised didn't mare the beauty.

I was still laughing when his fist broke into my face. My cheek quickly crumbled under the pressure. The force of the pouch threw my head back. As I brought my head back to the front, my face was still locked into a bloody grim smile.

He would have to physically remove it from my face. 'Cause I wasn't about to scream, no matter what he did to me. Besides, there was nothing to say anyway. He was saying it all with his fists.

I lost count after the first few punches that rained all over my body of how many times he hit me. It didn't matter, I never opened my mouth. And even after my lips lost their ability to smile, the bastard could still see it in my eyes. And even when he blacked both of those, my body was still shook with the silent laughter that I could not express in any other way.

I could feel myself slipping into unconsciousness, but I didn't care. I stared to laugh again, even though no sound came out. I could hear it in my head, and it was bouncing off of every wall and counter in existence. And even though my laugh began to sound desperate, I couldn't stop. I wouldn't stop. Not until I was dead. I was still laughing when the final blow to my noggin spelled the end of my resistance. And then, lights out.


	2. A Frail, Withering Fire

Story: Crawling from Darkness

Author: Night'z Kiss

Chapter Two: A frail, Withering Fire

Words: 4,051

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the series of Naruto. I am not so lucky. All I have are my thoughts and aspirations.

(Kyuubi): regular speech

(**Kyuubi**): Kyuubi speaking

(_Kyuubi_): Mental speech/thinking

Last Time:

I could feel myself slipping into unconsciousness, but I didn't care. I stared to laugh again, even though no sound came out. I could hear it in my head, and it was bouncing off of every wall and counter in existence. And even though my laugh began to sound desperate, I couldn't stop. I wouldn't stop. Not until I was dead. I was still laughing when the final blow to my noggin spelled the end of my resistance. And then, lights out.

Chapter Two:

I was really starting to get tired of waking up in this place. At least this time when I woke up, there was no one to greet me. Danzo was gone, thank god for that. A quick glance told me that I was not alone in my torment though. Lucky me, they put some poor saps on guard duty.

The one nearest me had his face uncovered. Even though I could see him clearly, I did not recognize him. But the leaf insignia on his headband glared back at me. It was pretty hard not to recognize that.

The man was armed with…a sword? Or something dangerous to my person. I was not about to doubt the abilities of the sword or the man. But could kill me without much effort and I could do little to stop them.

The second man, he was hidden in the shadows of the farthest wall. I could not see his face. But I knew it was a man, for no woman had a figure like that. Besides the way he held himself, I knew it could be no other. I could judge people at a glance, one good thing that came from being a recluse and an outcast as a child was that I watched people a lot more then I ever interacted with them.

Keeping an eye on the man who so casually leaned against the wall and the one nearest me, I took stock of my injuries, or at least as best as I could. Well, I was injured after all. Kind of hard really with the fact of the shackles and everything.

For what I could tell, many of my ribs where broken as were many bones throughout my whole body. I couldn't move either arm, so something along there was broken, whether shoulder joints or collar bones, I didn't know.

My arms where a mess with the blood that leaked from my wrists. My hands where turning a purplish color. Though I did not remember what that quite meant, I knew it was bad. Probably.

From what I could see of my body, there were bruises everywhere. Apparently somewhere along the way, someone thought to take off my jacket and shirt. So my many bruises were displayed to any who happened to glance my way.

At least I was pretty with all of the purple and black that covered my torso and what I could see of my back. And probably the rest of my body too. Danzo really held nothing back on my account.

I also felt woozy, probably from the lose of blood. But I wasn't dead. That was something wasn't it? But damn did I feel bad. I hurt, a lot.

"Danzo had you healed some before he left, so you wouldn't die." That voice, now that was a voice I recognized.

"..S..ai" apparently I might have broken my voice as well, cause it burned my throat, that sad attempt of speech.

I couldn't vocally express myself to him, so I was content to just glare at him instead, and curse him something fiercely in my mind. He was the one who leaned against the wall, hidden in the shadows.

He straightened himself out when he noticed he had my full attention. He pushed off the wall, and began to walk towards me. All of this with a smooth grace that did little to comfort me. Then again, his presence itself did little to please me.

"I know what you're thinking friend," He began. "Can I still call you friend?"

_No, never again._

He took my silence as an affirmation, and graced me with that creepy fake smile of his. He didn't stop walking, his steps slow and measured. Like a giant cat stalking a vulnerable mouse.

Except he wasn't a cat, and I was a lot more vulnerable that a field mouse.

"I know you probably don't feel well right now. But you'll get used to it, I promise." There was something that caught in his voice, that made me almost sympathetic to him. Almost.

The betrayal of Sasuke had done a number on me. And I actually like him. Sai was never on my list of best buds. But it still bit me to know that he was loyal to the bastard who so loved to torture me.

_Hey, what are friends for?_ Sarcasm. Heavy sarcasm.

_Had he really just been playing us all along? Waiting for the perfect moment to strike? _The implications of my present train of thought would have bleached my face of color if I had had any to spare.

I wondered just how much of a traitor Sai really was. When he befriended us, was it really all just on Danzo's orders. Or was there an actual bound there?

Then again, did it really matter. Sasuke was a person I had shared bounds with, and look where that left me. Not that I can really blame him for my current predicament. But I needed someone to blame right, so why not the teme? But that could just be the pain talking.

"…Don't worry Naruto, Danzo told me about his plans for you. You and I will be very similar soon, that way we can properly go on missions together. You'll see. He just has to fix you up, make you one of us…" _That…did not sound good._

I didn't know what to think of the man in front me of. I thought I had known all the quirks of Sai, but apparently I missed a few key ones.

_Dear god, what else have I missed?_

I watched Sai approach with uncertainty rapidly beating away in my chest, each breath as painful as the last. I wasn't about to be cowed though! I was not a coward. A snarl bleed my lips, my teeth painted red. I could feel my fangs elongate even as I hissed at Sai.

_Interesting. I can still morph parts of my body. Even if involuntary, it still works. _

I watched as Sai stepped up, his face barely an inch away from my own. And so I waited, the spit collecting in my mouth. How could I be afraid of a little more pain. Just the mere thought made me want to laugh in his face.

And who knew, maybe I would get some flecks of blood splashed upon his face. Was pain contagious? If it was, oh…what an entertaining thought.

Sai waited a few beets before leaning closer towards me. I waited a few ticks, to see what he could do. And when he opened that mouth of his, I let the spittal fly. Really, it was a lucky shot, to get it right in his mouth. Score!

I leaned back as far away from the bastard as I could. I waited for the inevitable pain that I knew would soon be coming. It wouldn't be the first, and hardly the last. I didn't close my eyes or cower from the traitor. I just waited, my shoulders tense but unmoving.

However, Sai just carefully spit out my little present and then wiped his mouth. Oh, how cute! When he looked at me, I could see the anger simmering in his eyes. This was good, I had very rarely seen such an emotion from Sai before.

_Wonder what other emotions I can get out of him?_

But then he just smiled at me again. Again with that damn happy go lucky smile I so hated. Maybe that's why he smiled at me like that, because he knew I hated it. Small revenge I guess. But bearable considering the alternatives. Very bearable.

"I'm so happy to have you as an ally. I know that we will accomplish many missions together." I watched him carefully, my eyes carefully studying the man in front of me, looking for a threat.

"Naruto, I'm sorry about what happened in the village. But we can rebuild it. Sure we lost a good number of ninjas, but we can train more to replace them…" I stopped listening to him.

His voice was starting to sicken me. The things he was saying were disgusting just like the soul that seemed to be lacking in him. Or maybe his soul was just disfigured, lacking a few necessary things. Like emotions, good intentions. Things of that caliber.

Did dolls and puppets even have souls?

I gladly blocked out that voice, deciding that Sai was not a threat. I instead focused within my mind, forcing reality away. I felt my physical body slump as much as it could in the shackles, but the pain became a lesser sensation. One that I could easily ignore. I was already too far gone within myself to really feel it.

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

When he opened his eyes, he was in a familiar place. Naruto dismissed the sewers around him, focusing on the golden gates in front of him. The water that soaked his sandals did not really bother him. He only had eyes for the lurking creature trapped behind the golden bars.

He could see the giant eyes watching him, the fangs bared and threatening.

"Kyuubi, what happened." At least he could talk here.

The Kyuubi studied the young man before him, before he let out a sigh that felt like a gentle slap on Naruto's face. Good thing his wounds did not transfer over into this realm. That gentle slap might have been agonizing if otherwise.

"**During the battle you lost control of your chakra and formed five tails. However, even with this boost in power, you were not powerful enough to kill him**. **Another tail was forming when we were hit from behind." **

Kyuubi was clear and to the point. He did not feel the need to embellish the tale. There was too much else to concentrate on at the moment.

Naruto thought over what the Kyuubi said, trying to remember the battle. But things were hazy in his mind. All he could remember was fighting Pein, and then falling unconscious.

"So, I blanked out. And Tsunade saved all our asses? But that doesn't explain how or why I'm a prisoner here and why everyone thinks that I'm dead_._" It was odd to hear one's own voice echo through the halls of ones own mind. But Naruto was used to it.

"**From what I could make out while you were being 'punished', Danzo took over the role of Hokage. Somehow they disguised you and imprisoned you here."** Here the demon stopped, seeming to gather his thoughts as he focused his eyes on the young kit before him.

"**Kit, I'm not going to lie to you. It doesn't look good for us. I can't break through those shackles. Danzo talked while he tortured you. He's going to do everything he can think of to break you. And he is not afraid to use the people close to you to do it either.**

**He's going to make you into some kind of elite ninja that is loyal solely to him. He talked of how he was going to thoroughly destroy everything that is Naruto Uzimaki and create a new shinobi from his ashes. And, I think he's going to have fun doing it."**

"_Then how do I stop him?_" Naruto was desperate for an answer.

He didn't like the sound of this at all. If Kyuubi was having problems finding a way out of this, how was he ever supposed to find a way?

"**There is only one way that I could think of…but you're not going to like it**." Kyuubi sounded hesitant, something Naruto had never heard before.

Before Naruto could ask for an explanation, he was violently ripped from his inner sanctuary. Pain, something that he was slowly being quite intimate with made his body

scream in protest.

My eyes opened of their own accord, stopping only to wince at the pain that seemed to originate from everywhere. As all ninja were trained to do, I forced the pain somewhere else, locking it deep away so I could focus with a rational mind.

The first thing I saw after my eyes had adjusted to my accursed cell, was the figure who was standing right in front of me. Danzo. My eyes narrowed, the hate like a living things within me, feeding all the cells within my body.

My eyes flickered to the man standing slightly behind him. Sai was there, watching me. He even looked almost worried for me. Surely the pain was making me see things. But he was the least of my concerns, if they could be called that.

I only had eyes for one man at the moment. He was the one who endangered my welfare at the moment. I turned my gaze back towards Danzo, expecting to see that deformed ugly mug and was not disappointed.

"Naruto, Naruto…I can't have you spacing out like this. You should really be paying attention, I've been standing here for the last few minutes, and you only just now noticed my presence.

You need to be properly trained. Any of my shinobi could withstand the amount of pain I've dealt upon your person. You are too weak. You need to be trained; we should get started right away.' Danzo looked pleased at this statement.

_Sadist._ I thought bitterly.

**Sadist**.Kyuubi agreed.

"Ah Naruto, before I forget again. I regret to inform you that your former sensai also fell in the battle against Pein. Unfortunately he was only one of many. That's makes 53 Jou…" I blanked out the rest.

My mind was solely focused on the fact that Kakashi was dead. It seemed that my precious people kept falling like flies.

"…42 chuin…" Did Sakura make it? Did I really want to know?

"…27 gen…" What else would he have to live for if she had died as well? Kohona?

"…regret to inform…the deaths of…" Was Kohona worth this pain? Was anything?

"…Lee…" Was there any escape to all this?

"…Kiba…" Why did the people around me keep ending up dead?

"…Shikamaru…" How more could I take before I finally broke?

"…Hinata …" Could a broken man still feel?

"…Lastly, Hanaru Sakura." That named stopped my thoughts in their tracks.

Danzo must have seen the question in my face because he gladly repeated the names of the fallen. It was the last name on the mighty long list that truly shook me to my core, although the ones before it had done significant damage as well.

"…Hanaru Sakura, died trying to heal a fallen genien. Both her and the genien were caught up in a excess amount of discharged chakra from the enemy and both perished. From what I've heard though, it made quite the sight."

"No!" I tried to cry, my voice cracking in the attempt to pore the pain out of this body.

Danzo actually smiled at the pain he saw in my limp form. He was delighted to realize which name had the greatest effect. It was obvious that this name was much more than just a name. Danzo must have realized that I cared for her deeply to react this violently.

And from the smirk that spread across that scared face, I could easily tell that Danzo was going to use this bit of information to his advantage. Danzo could read me too easily. Or it could be the fact that I was to worn out to better control my features and emotions.

I sealed my lips, glaring at the man who I was beginning to hate more than Pein. At least with Pein I knew what to expect. A pretty clean and straightforward death. Danzo offered me torture, pain, and a living death by all means. I would have preferred Pein.

Or I would have preferred the defeat of both of them and lives and welfare of my precious people. But we can't all have what we want. I was learning this through most painful methods.

"And now, its time to start your training." Danzo sounded gleeful.

The bastard just liked to see me miserable. Then again, there was some comfort and satisfaction in the fantasy of torturing Danzo just like he did to me. To each his own I suppose.

I could not stand to look at him anymore. The smile of his face was too sickening. Or maybe it was his whole face. Mostly though, it was knowing what he intended to do to me.

Instead I focused my gaze onto the only other form of life in the room. Sai. The shinobi was not looking in my direction however. His gaze was directed towards the ground. Staring closely at the floor as if it held some kind of meaning.

_Coward_. My mind whispered.

**Dead man. **Kyuubi whispered.

And as Danzo began this newest session of torture, I could hear Kyuubi whispering to me, taking my mind off of the pain. Again I escaped into the sanctuary of my mind. Where there was only Kyuubi and I.

No Danzo, no traitors. And no burning Kohona for me to feel guilty of. And no mentions of the precious people I had failed to save. No guilt, no shame. And no horrible truths that I wanted nothing to do with. Even the Kyuubi was a welcome distraction to these ugly truths.

Again I entered the realm of consciousness in almost the same amount of pain that I left it in. This was starting to get very annoying. It was not something to look forward to.

Again my eyes opened to an unpleasant sight. That bastard Sai was standing right in front of me, his face expressionless as he watched me. A quick glance around showed that Sai was the only person in my cell with me. Good, that other guard had left.

No Danzo. I guess even a demon container like me could thank the goddess for some things. Hopefully I would get some down time to recover. One could hope right.

"Naruto…please forgive me." The calm voice of Sai brought me out of my musings.

Sai did not move, but he never moved his sight from my own. I looked at him closely, and even though he was just as expressionless as usual, I could tell something was different. Somehow he looked more like the old Sai. Somehow.

"We don't have much time. Danzo will be back soon. He only left me here because he thinks that I am still his obedient and loyal puppet. When he finds out that I'm not, he'll most likely dispose of me."

Even while talking of his possible death, Sai never changed facial expressions. He was as empty as he always. If death did not scare him, then what did? Or did he fear it, but did not know how to express it?

"I'm sorry that I can't do more than this. Danzo is the only one with the keys to unlock the manacles. If I try I would only end up hurting both of us. And in your state, I do not know if you would survive it." Sai glanced up at the manacles as he said this, but then looked back at me.

"Then…how do I…get out…of here?" I was happy to note that at least I could finally talk again. Even if my voice sounded weak and broken.

"…you don't…" His voice was quite. His face a figure carved of stone. However, even if his face wasn't showing it, it was quite obvious in his eyes. The despair he felt at both of our situations.

I said nothing, not about to try and deny what he just said. We both knew that I wasn't getting out of this one.

"The least I can do for you is tell you that Danzo lied about most of the casualties." That brought some hope back to the deflated muscle in my chest.

"How…many?" I could say only this, as my voice was already starting to leave me.

But it was enough for Sai to understand.

"Thanks to you, Pein was too distracted to cause much expressive damage after the initial attack. Most of the people who died were the people who died very early in the battle. In total there were only about 50 or so deaths. Most of these were Jouinen on the front lines." Hope. Such a double edged sword.

"Ka…ka…shi? Sa…ku…ra?" My speech was failing quicker then I liked.

"Sakura is perfectly fine. Although she did take a hit from a chakra bomb, it was hardly enough to kill her." Here he stopped, and I knew what was coming next was not going to be easy to hear.

"I'm sorry, but Kakashi did not make it. Kakashi was one of the first wave of shinobi that tried to defend the walls. He did take a fake Pein with him. It was an honorable death. His name is being carved into the memory stone even as we speak." Sai said a lot, but there was much that he was not saying.

"_I wonder, is my name being carved onto the stone as well?" _I could not help but wonder.

"**Would it make a difference either way?"** Kyuubi ever the voice of reason.

"_No, I would still be trapped here as a prisoner and they would be none the wiser."_ A depressing thought, but it still rung true.

"…Wha…now?" I didn't know what hurt more, the agony of my voice, or the deaths of my beloveds.

With a sigh, he told me everything. He told me from personal experiences how Danzo was going to break me. How he was going to use my fears to break me. How he would beat me until I couldn't feel it anymore. Break my spirit just like he would break all my bones. Break me and then remodel me to follow only his lead.

It was a fate much worse then death.

"I'm sorry Naruto, you have been a friend to me when I had none. And yet I can do nothing to return the favor. This is out of my hands as much as it is out of yours. We are both powerless with Danzo in charge of the village." His words had never been truer.

"…why…?" No more, I had nothing left.

"Because of the power you carry in you. Danzo wants to make the perfect soldier out of you. And nothing will stand in his way. He already has the council on his side, and all the ninja that are not a part of root think that you are dead.

I'm sorry Naruto, but Danzo has been planning this for many years. I wish I could do more to help you." He seemed sad, he had lost as much, if not more than I, so he knew personally the hell that waited for me.

I wanted to say something, scream or cry, anything to get these feelings out of me. But I did none of these, I couldn't. So I only shook my head helplessly. It was not like there was a lot to say.

I could say nothing with my ruined throat, so I only smiled at him. But even this failed, for the smile was obviously forced. And the blood spilling from the freshly aggravated wounds did not help the image either. But Sai could tell that I did not blame him, and so he smiled in return.

"I've got to go now, my shift is over. I don't even know if I'll see you again. Danzo is very suspicious of me already. But even if I do see you next, I don't know what state you'll be in. So I'll say this now. You were the best friend I ever had. And I wish that things could have been different."

I nodded to him, and a small genuine smile cracked my lips even more so. Fresh blood, dulled pain. Nothing new.

"Farewell my friend. May the will of fire always give you warmth."

_And may the will of fire never falter in your darkest days._ I finished the traditional blessing, moving my lips so Sai could read them.

"Farewell." And with that, Sai walked out of my life. And that was the last time I ever saw him. Something both painful and relieving at the same time.


	3. And So it Ends

Story: Crawling from Darkness

Author: Night'z Kiss

Chapter Three: And so it ends…

Words: 1,937

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the series of Naruto. I am not so lucky. All I have are my thoughts and aspirations.

(Kyuubi): regular speech

(**Kyuubi**): Kyuubi speaking

(_Kyuubi_): Mental speech/thinking

Last Time:

"Farewell my friend. May the will of fire always give you warmth."

_And may the will of fire never falter in your darkest days._ I finished the traditional blessing, moving my lips so Sai could read them.

"Farewell." And with that, Sai walked out of my life. And that was the last time I ever saw him. Something both painful and relieving at the same time.

Again he found himself tucked safely away within the shelter of his mind. The moment he projected his spirit into this place, he almost collapsed. The only thing that saved him was his falling against a nearby wall.

The young man panted, trying to catch his breath. But each breath was harder to come then the last. A sickening rattling was also heard along side each puff of breath. After calling his pained labor of breath, Naruto turned his attention to the demon that was so silently watching his sufferings.

Naruto would have wished to comfort the demon about his welfare, both physically and otherwise. But they both knew that it would be a wasted effort. His spirit was starting to project the grisly figure of the outside world. Bruises and gaunt features hard to miss. Open sores rotting with infection. Blonde hair limp and dirtied with dried blood. One eye sealed shut, maybe to never open again.

Naruto looked away, not able to stomach the look of pity in those fiercely glowing red eyes. The ground was so much more interesting, at least it could not point out things that they had no business knowing.

"…**Naruto, we both know that you can not hold out much more."** If Naruto would have ever told someone how soft and gentle a caress the voice of the Kyuubi was, he knew that everyone would think that he would have lost it.

However, Naruto refused to acknowledge his obvious weakening. He scowled as he started at the floor, not having the nerve to actually glare at the demon. He knew what was happening to his body. How could he forget?

"**Kit…I know you do not wish to admit aloud the hopelessness of your…our situation. But kit, if we do not act soon, then there will truly be nothing we can do." **

At this Naruto closed his one functioning eye and leaned even heavier against the wall. He even thought about banging his head against the support, but what good would that have done?

"Take a good look at yourself kit. You know more so then I how much time you have left. Each day you come here to escape, but the walls of your mind are crumpling. Even you can't keep this up for much longer."

A great silence followed.

"**Naruto, you're breaking."** Never had such an ugly things been said so gently before.

"I know Kyuubi…I know." A glance around showed the truth of the demon's words.

The walls were in fact crumbling. The cracked paint fell like ash upon the ground, leaving the walls barren, but soaked crimson. The torches had long been withered out, his fire having been slowly smothered and finally killed.

The only remaining fire was the Kyuubi itself, and those damned golden gates that taunted him so. He hated them. He hated this, all of it.

"**Are you finally ready kit?" **The booming voice of the demon bounced off of the walls, shattered some of the weaker ones completely.

Time had lost meaning here in this place. The young man spent more and more time here as the torturing got worse and worse. He was loosing himself, just like the man told him he would.

If not for the Kyuubi…

He didn't like to think of his daily "training" lessons. They hurt, more then anything else in the world. Besides, of course, the fact that Danzo loved to teach him the meanings of humiliation and degradation.

Danzo played his body as if it were an instrument. Each scream and groan a note on a scale that only he knew. Naruto had never been one for torturing people. If they deserved to die, then kill them. Keeping them alive after all of their usefulness had dried up was just cruel.

And Naruto would never advocate such practice after being a victim to it.

"How do I know that the others will survive?" He asked the same question that had been asked many times before.

The Kyuubi did not roll his eyes, but he did huff. "**We've been over this kit. They will be fine. Only the ones that captured us and tortured us, will be…effected."**

The Kyuubi spoke of the pain because he felt it just as much as Naruto did. Maybe that was why Naruto had held out so long, because he had someone with which to share the burden. Danzo thought he was lasting awhile anyway.

Naruto though, thought that Danzo did not have much longer to wait. He knew that he could not hold out much longer, his physical body had already failed for the most part. His mind was already beginning, and spirit could not be far after.

Naruto knew that the time for waiting for miracles or a rescue was past. He did not even have the hope for a rescue anymore. He had been stuck here as a prisoner for far to long.

"Promise." The same demand of a hundred times before.

"**I swear on my honor as a demon."** The same reply.

Both ignored the fact that fox demons by their very natures were liars and tricksters. Naruto had enough respect for the demon inside him, that he overlooked this bit of reality.

Naruto sighed, but slowly nodded in agreement anyway. Why not? There was really nothing much left to loose anyway. The time had come, he could not hold out any longer.

The broken boy limped towards the cage. Every step was biting, but the boy had learned early on how to ignore it. Pain meant that he was still alive. But it was killing him at the same time.

When he made it to the giant golden gates, he stopped. Naruto gazed up at the mighty demon that watched him so closely. The warmth of the Kyuubi's breath brushed against his face. It was comforting, relieving a bit of the pain, phantoms though they were.

"Make them pay Kyuubi, for doing this to us. But only the ones who deserve it."

"**I will, this I swear."** A growl that shook the grand gates, but did not even make the boy blink.

"Very well." A soft whisper, a final surrender.

The boy nodded to himself, and reached for the thin, old seal that held to gates closed. He would not hesitate any longer. He had long accepted this. The fates had spoken, no more paths of destiny lay before him.

As his fingers latched onto the faded parchment, he paused when he heard the demon speak.

"**For what it is worth, I'm sorry that I couldn't save you."** Such kind words, but they bit into Naruto all the same.

"Don't worry, there's nothing left to save." A bitter smile, and then a ripping sound echoed through the ruins of his mind.

The seal broke easily under the force of Naruto's hand. And even though he was hit with a wall of chakra the likes he had never felt before, he was at peace. And even as his spirit was ripped to shreds and devoured from the power of the raging chakra, he couldn't have felt better.

Finally it was ending. No more pain…no…more…

Then there was nothing.

That day a broken man died. And through this death, a whole new kind of horror was unleashed. But only to the man's enemies. His friends and precious ones were spared.

It began a day as any other, but when the sun rose to its highest zenith, Hell itself broke through the thawed earth. Flames rose from the overturned and torn earth. These flames rose to the heavens, a mockery to any heavenly creatures who may have been watching.

Many buildings fell, engulfed in the flames that burned so brightly that many a men were blinded. The smoke that followed the flames were an ebony cloud that devoured the sun.

And from the fire and smoke, came a creature that no one was expecting. A nine tailed giant emerged from the flames.

And this creature unleashed a wrath that no one could understand. The creature thrashed and shook in its rage, knocking over buildings as if made of only of paper. The intense killing aura that hovered over the demon sent many shinobi to their knees.

But it was on this day that many new heroes were born. Many thought to sacrifice themselves to save their fellow vulnerable villagers. Many ninja kept their wits about them, and successfully evacuated the village.

In the process of distracting the giant nine tailed fox, surprisingly very few died. Most of these ninjas were the personal anbu of Danzo. Many people were confused of the restrictive behavior of the Kyuubi. This attack on the village was nowhere as destructive as the one that came before it from the same demon.

The battle itself must have lasted barely even a turn of an hour's glass. The Kyuubi came through the fires and hell, and left through them just as quickly. Leaving a small echo of the destruction it had brought many years before. The villagers were all shocked and amazed at how little damage and death there really was.

However, it was a day for mourning, because the village had lost another Hokage after the day's end. He had given his life in the attempt to stop the great demon. But alas he was no where near strong enough to do so.

Never again did the villagers see the demon of the nine tails ever again in their lives, for which they were all thankful of. But many people had the question of where the Kyuubi had come from. They had thought that with the death of its container, the Kyuubi would have perished as well. So how was it that the Kyuubi was alive and well, if his contained was not?

This question was soon on all the villagers' minds, and it was not answered until many days later when they scavenged the rubble looking for survivors. The villagers had found an underground dungeon that none had known about.

And it was here that they found a fallen hero. Broken in death he was. The sight gruesome enough that caution was heavily suggested. When moving the body to give it a proper burial, sufficient cloth was used to hide the tragic state of the body. But this here was buried with a smile on his face, one they did not have to craft for it was there when they found him.

Many shinobi broke down that day, screaming and crying for a man that no longer was able to hear them. Many a curse was cast upon the fallen form of Danzo, whose corruption was unveiled in a detailed search of his records he had keep locked away.

This young man had a funeral fit for kings, or Hokages. The sixth Hokage himself was disposed in silence, his body left rotting in the surrounding forest, his face of stone in the mountain broken and crumbled.

And thus the village was saved once again by the man they had unknowingly cast off to his death. And many years later, when the next generation of great shinobi were born, the name of Naruto Uzumaki was more then just a name on a rock, collecting dust. This shinobi became a legend in the village, his adventures and trials the focus of many books and lessons.

But most of all, the name Naruto Uzumaki was craved into the memorial stone, right beside his father and his mentor. And many a times, did a strange little fox with nine tails come to this specific stone and bow before it.

(A.N)

Well, that's it folks. Thanks you for reading through this all the way. I hope you liked it, it was fun to write it. And let's face it, who hasn't wanted Naruto to just say screw it and unleash the Kyuubi?

Well, thanks again for reading. I would love it if any of you could review and tell me what you thought about it. Any positive criticisms would be helpful as well. So, thanks and I hope you all review!

Night'z Kiss


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